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Monday, May 7, 2018

Water Culture Hydroponic System for Success Farming

The
water culture hydroponic system is one of the easiest and most efficient
hydroponic systems. This system is not only used by home gardeners, but also by
professional farmers that sell their plants commercially.

What
you need

§An aquarium-like
container

§Air bubble makers

§Air line

§Planting medium

§Floating platform

Air
Bubble Makers

Air
Pump

Air
pump is commonly used to produce air bubbles inside the liquid nutrients. You
connect the air pump to the air stone at the base of the container through the
air line. You can also use small tubes for smaller air bubbles.

Falling
Water

Even
though this type isn’t popularly used in the water culture hydroponic system,
the surface of fallen droplets of water is a good way to produce air bubbles.
The more water that falls, the bigger the volume, the lower they fall, the more
air bubbles they produce. This method is used more in the commercial setting
because it needs a lot more water than usual.

Re-Circulatory
Floating Raft System

This
system works like a never ending flood. You can prepare as many containers as
you want to be connected to the main container. Every container has its own
pipe that connects to the main container. Every container is filled with liquid
nutrients and plants. Then, use water pump to pump liquid nutrients through the
containers continuously.

Most
farmers that use this method only use one air pump which is in the main
container. The water pump is on 24/7. You can even use the falling water system
to produce air bubbles in each container. You don’t need to check the water in
each container to change it either. This method is quite simple and suitable
for commercial use.

Floating
Raft System

The
floating raft system is more or less the same with the regular water culture
system but it needs more than 8-10 inches depth for the container. This system
is more suitable for bigger plants that need bigger room and more water.
Regardless of the system you use, make sure to choose the right container and
the water depth needed by your plants.

Kratky
Method

This
is a variation of the standard water culture hydroponic system. It was founded
by a lecturer in Hawaii University, B. A. Kratky. This non-circulatory
hydroponic system does not flow water from the container to the plants, but it
lets the water to solve into the soil. This is actually quite efficient and can
be modified perfectly into the circulatory system.

This
can be quite similar to the NFT system where the plants are hanging about over
the water with distance between the water and the pots, but in this one, the
plants touch the water so the roots can grow out underneath.

How
High Should Your Water Be?

Should
the water level higher or lower than the pots? That doesn’t really matter
because water level changes constantly. When the air bubbles reach the top of
the water, they burst and cause sparks of water around. Those sparks of water
can wet your plant enough even though the pots don’t touch the water. It also
depends on how well your planting medium absorbs water and retains humidity.
The size of the plants also matter because if your plants are small and their
roots are short, it’s better to make the pots touch the water at least until
the roots grow long enough to be in the water.